Water at forefront of local agendas in '07

Thursday

Dec 27, 2007 at 12:36 AMDec 27, 2007 at 7:00 AM

BY FRED HIERSSTAR-BANNER

Editor's note: This is the seventh in a series of stories counting down the Top 10 stories of 2007. The series continues through the end of the year. Coming tomorrow: The death of innocence.
OCALA - Marion County officials had their hands full with local water issues during 2007. They were either claiming their share as counties prepared to dip into the Ocklawaha River, were concerned with cleaning pollution in Orange Lake, or were gridlocked over how to protect Rainbow Springs and Silver Springs as pollution levels rose in those waterways.
The county's first battle began this summer, when the St. Johns River Water Management District joined with about 20 other water utilities from south Central Florida and hatched a plan to siphon water out of the Ocklawaha River near State Road 40. As angry Marion County officials complained that Central Florida communities should first conserve their own water rather than raid other counties, the number of interested counties dwindled to Marion, Lake and Putnam, and the city of Ocala.
Marion County commissioners were hit with sticker shock when they learned that their share of the proposed water plant and distribution pipes would be $153 million, plus $9 million in maintenance costs.
Marion County Commissioner Stan McClain complained bitterly at Ocklawaha River meetings this year that other counties should first focus on conservation and growth management plans.
"The Ocklawaha is not a long-term solution. It's not going to solve the problem," McClain said about the river being targeted as a water source.
He described the experience this week as "disappointing," and complained the water management district was moving too fast. "The speed with which the process has moved forward has taken me aback," he said.
A recent Marion County water study found the county would have to stop relying solely on groundwater during the next few decades and that surface water, such as from the Ocklawaha River, was the county's best option, besides desalination.
Marion County officials this week sent St. Johns River Water Management District a letter saying they would not continue participating in the Ocklawaha River plan until the district studies the river's minimum flows, which are water levels that would be safe for the river's aquatic life before doing harm to its environment.
In hopes of considering long-term solutions, Marion County also is joining with Flagler County and the St. Johns River Water Management District to consider that county's plan to build a desalination plant and pipe water to Marion County. The county commission hopes to get other counties to join in with the plan to lower the cost, which almost certainly would exceed the cost of a water plant on the Ocklawaha River.
SPRINGS PROTECTION
On another key issue, the County Commission was gridlocked over its proposed springs protection ordinance, which banned installation of traditional septic tanks in areas that affected the county's springs and groundwater.
The proposal would have required new homeowners to install enhanced treatment systems if county sewer services were not available, and would have required homeowners with failing septic tanks to replace them with the more expensive systems.
In a 4-1 vote, the board said the proposal was too severe and told staff to come back next year with new and more limited approaches to protecting groundwater.
IRRIGATION IRRITATION
The county also failed this year to agree on rules that would limit lawn watering to conserve water. Commissioners blamed the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Southwest Florida Water Management District for the county's lack of an irrigation plan.
That's because Marion County east of Interstate 75 is overseen by the St. Johns district, while the west side is overseen by the Southwest district. The two agencies have different watering restrictions, and commissioners said they wanted to wait until the two agencies created a uniform watering rule before the county weighed in on the issue.
"We'll have to do something on our own," McClain said this week about creating watering rules, saying the two water agencies likely would never agree on a single irrigation plan.
CLEAN UP, RATE CHANGES
Late this year, the county did sign onto the Orange Creek Basin Management Action Plan. The plan is a series of projects to clean several creeks and lakes, mostly in Alachua County and Gainesville. As part of the plan, Orange Lake, in northern Marion County, is on the list of polluted water bodies. It is polluted with phosphates, typically found in fertilizers. Marion County commissioners agreed to support studies that hopefully would reveal where the pollutants are coming from and how to best repair the lake.
In September, commissioners also voted to make water rates uniform throughout the county. Before the vote, Stonecrest, Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club, Spruce Creek Preserve and Spruce Creek South paid rates lower than the county's other customers. In a unanimous commission vote, board members said all customers should pay the same amount for water.
There was one exception to the uniform rate structure. Under the terms of the county's contract to buy Silver Springs Regional water and sewer systems, those customers would pay less until 2011-12.
In addition, the commission also voted for a tiered rate system, charging water customers based on a block-rate structure. That results in customers paying more for water if they exceed set tiers.
Fred Hiers may be reached at fred.hiers@starbanner or 352-867-4157.

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